Editor's note: MLive.com is highlighting one of the Detroit Tigers' free agents each day. Today: Second baseman Omar Infante.

OMAR INFANTEPosition: Second base

Age: He will be 32 on Opening Day of the 2014 season.

2013 statistics: .318, 10 home runs, 51 RBIs, 118 games. His .795 OPS was the best of his career.

2013 salary: $4 million. (Second year of an $8 million extension he signed with the Miami Marlins.)

Internal candidates to replace him: The Tigers could start rookie Hernan Perez at second base next season, but they would probably prefer to see him log some serious at-bats at Triple-A Toledo before making the move to the Tigers. Danny Worth is out of options, so the Tigers will have to carry him coming out of spring training in the spring or run him through the waiver process. Infielder Ramon Santiago is a free agent. He likely won't be re-signed and wouldn't likely be considered as an option as the everyday second baseman anyway.

Why re-sign him? There does not appear to be a viable internal candidate to start every day. There certainly are not any proven ones. Outside of Robinson Cano, the free-agent market for second basemen is extremely thin this offseason. Infante hit .318 in 2013 and has settled in nicely on the infield and in the clubhouse. The Tigers are not likely to re-sign shortstop Jhonny Peralta, so losing his bat in the lineup and Infante's could short-circuit the offense a bit.

Why not re-sign him? Since the market is so thin, the price tag for Infante could be expensive. The Tigers have some payroll issues and still face a major decision with what to do with Max Scherzer, who will be a free agent following the 2014 season. Miguel Cabrera will be a free agent in two years. Also, if the Tigers thing Perez or someone else in the organization will be ready to start in the near future, they might be hesitant to sign Infante, who is certain to be looking for a long-term deal.

Prediction: The Tigers will do their best to re-sign Infante, but they very likely could get outbid. It seems unlikely that they will be willing to lock him up for big money on a long-term deal when they have other pressing issues coming with their salary structure.